Case-Shiller: L.A.-O.C. home prices up 7.7%

Home prices in the Los Angeles-Orange County area rose 7.7 percent in November, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index released Tuesday.

November was the fifth consecutive month of home-price gains in the region, boosting prices back to January 2004 levels, the survey shows. Despite those gains, home prices still are 36 percent below the September 2006 price peak.

The Case-Shiller report is the last, and most conservative, of four key price reports for November.

DataQuick, The California Association of Realtors and CoreLogic likewise showed hefty percentage gains in home prices, ranging from 8 percent to almost 16 percent in November.

Although Case-Shiller and CoreLogic reports lag other home price indexes, experts believe that both more accurately reflect changes in home values because they compare a home's latest sale price to its price the last time it sold.

Nov. House Price

1-yr ch

Case-Shiller

7.7%

CoreLogic

8.0%

DataQuick

14.1%

Calif. Assn. of Realtors

15.9%

Nationwide, prices were up in 19 of 20 metro areas included in the Case-Shiller survey, with prices up 4.5 percent in a composite of 10 metro areas and up 5.5 percent in a 20-city composite.

Home prices got their biggest bounce in Phoenix and Las Vegas, two of the hardest-hit markets during the housing market crash. Phoenix home prices shot up 22.8 percent in November from the same month in 2011, while Las Vegas prices were up 10 percent.

Three other metros had double-digit price gains: San Francisco, up 12.7 percent; Detroit, up 11.9 percent; and Minneapolis, up 11.1 percent.

The only annual decline occurred in New York, where home prices dropped 1.2 percent from year-ago levels.

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